Words: Mike Colletti

Lately I’ve been contemplating on better ways to help promote the amazing talent within Ohio. With the encouragement from friends, I took to my notepad and started brainstorming who would be my first entry. It didn’t take long for my thoughts to fall on who I believe to be one of the most underrated bands in Ohio right now. These guys blew me away on first contact.

So without further ado. I present to you, Odd Promise.

Formed in early 2016, Odd Promise is an energetic trio from Central Ohio, bringing back the elements of the early 2000 post-hardcore era. Made up of vocalist/guitarist Joshua Dykes, Bassist Phil Howiler and Drummer Shawn Wiler-Martin, Odd Promise is a three-piece that packs a punch of a five-piece due to their dynamic sound and production. I know it could be weird saying a lot of this as they don’t currently have any media online, but my goal with this read is to get you to check them out, follow them on social media and when it comes time for them to hit the stage, be there watching and experiencing these amazing musicians.

Each song that I’ve experienced has so much emotion and production as the song changes to reflect the emotion they’re trying to portray. The first song that comes to mind is Tempers & Typewriters. First off I’d like to establish with the world that I am a sucker for out of the ordinary song titles and lyrics. This song title already had me intrigued and wanting me to further dive into the lyrical content. I was very fortunate to also be supplied with their acoustic rendition of Tempers & Typewriters to base this single review around. Whereas this acoustic iteration of Tempers and Typewriters is a different style of the full band production, it properly displays the talent of Odd Promise.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/317471300″ /]

I thought back to when I saw them at That Ship’s Sailed’s EP Release. I then opened my email, hit play and was instantly amazed at the vocal performance given by Joshua Dykes. This of course, wasn’t the only thing that got me on this track. Hearing the live band version versus the stripped acoustic iteration was night and day. So simplistic yet unique with a large focus being vocal melody and harmonies made this track shine. In addition to the previously mentioned strengths of the song, there’s one melody backed by unique lyrics that had me coming back to this song.

“I know what went on over my sleeping body
This is so wrong
Things will never be the same
This is such a shame
This changes everything”

I found that chorus stuck in my head since day one. I reached out to Phil Howiler about the lyrics to get better insights on how their writing process is done. To him and Josh, each song is personal dealing with both internal and external hardship making it relatable to pretty much anyone. All the while, they throw in some very tasteful phrasing. Shawn explained the difference in writing styles between the two as “Josh is all Seether and three days Grace and Phil is Blink [182]”.

I was happy to be able to delve a little into the minds of Odd Promise and I can confidently say as a fan that I am more than excited to hear more from them. As I stated they are easily one of the most underrated bands that I know of in Ohio. They support the scene and are great guys in and out of music and always a pleasure to be around. I hope with this read you’ll give these guys a follow and eagerly await their EP as I am. As my friends in the pop-punk scene would say, don’t sleep on these guys.